7th Sunday after Epiphany                    

Luke 7:36-50

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and when he went into the Pharisee’s house he reclined to dine. And a woman in the city who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair, kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

“Teacher,” he replied, “speak.”

“A certain moneylender had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.”

And, Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But, the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.”

Then, he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

But, those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

But, he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Let Us Adore Him

This reading got me thinking about the different ways that we show our love and appreciation for each other. It reminded me of this one time when I came home from seminary to visit my family. I always drove the seven or eight hours it took to get from San Anselmo to Santa Rosa Valley, longer if I stopped for lunch or dinner on the way. Because the drive was so long, a lot of times I would arrive at night.

So, this visit, when I pulled up in front of my parents’ house, it was dark, but it was Southern California, and it was the summer, so the night was warm. My two brothers had been learning how to play the ukulele, and after I said hello to everyone, my brothers brought me to the backyard to show me what they had learned. They sat down, and I watched as they strummed their ukuleles together, to welcome me home. As the music filled the night air, accompanied by crickets and a soft breeze, I knew I was experiencing something special, a simple gift of music to let me know that they cared about me. I also knew that they were excited to show me what they had learned, and as the oldest, I was proud of what they had accomplished. It was such a touching moment, and one that I will never forget.

The act that the woman in our gospel reading performed for Jesus might be a little more extravagant than ukulele playing, but it was still her way of showing her love for Jesus. I don’t know how common it was back then for people to shed their tears onto another person’s feet, but I do know that if it were to happen today, it might freak some people out! But, the Pharisee who was witnessing this extraordinary event wasn’t really concerned with what she was doing. What he was worried about was who she was. “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

So, Jesus tells him a parable about a moneylender and two men who owed him money. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other owed him fifty. When they couldn’t pay, the moneylender cancelled both of their debts.

And, Jesus asked him, “Now, which of them will love him more?”

The obvious answer is, of course, the man whose debt was greater.

Jesus then lists all of the ways that the woman had shown her love for him. She bathed his feet with her tears and dried his feet with her hair. She kissed his feet and anointed them with ointment. This is in contrast to Simon who did not give Jesus water for his feet, did not greet him with a kiss, did not anoint his head with oil. The woman showed much love, because she was forgiven much. We don’t know what her sins were, but she believed them to be great. And, Simon believed her sins to be grievous enough that she shouldn’t be touching Jesus. But, Simon, unconcerned about his own sins because he believed himself to be pious and pure, did not show this kind of love for Jesus. He didn’t show his appreciation for who Jesus was and what Jesus did. Two debtors, both forgiven, and the one whose debt was greater loved him more.

I’ve participated in some worship services where foot-washing was a part of the experience. Since most of us don’t wear sandals, and we generally don’t sit on the floor, there are logistical concerns that Jesus and the people of his day didn’t have to worry about.

When I was in seminary, I was a chaplain assistant, and part of our job was to help run the four worship services that we would have on campus every week. For a long time, the Thursday service was a praise service; all of the music was modern praise songs, usually led by someone playing the guitar. Of the four weekly services, this one had the lowest attendance, and so we decided to try something new, what we decided to call “Worship Lab.” The idea was that it would be a space where we could experiment with different styles and elements of worship. The whole point of it was that any participants would essentially be asking the questions, “What is worship?” and “What can worship look like?” We tried all kinds of things, including art, a labyrinth walk, a love feast, even a drum circle. There was this really interesting one when we all gathered around a big map of the school, and we meditated on it, sharing stories of the significant experiences that we had in different locations.

One week, we thought of the idea of washing feet as part of a Worship Lab service. For a lot of people, this would really push them outside of their comfort zones. Some people don’t like the idea of touching someone else’s feet, or letting someone else touch theirs. And, coming from a society where we don’t really practice this, we might feel silly or awkward when we try it. But, the act of washing someone’s feet requires humility, and despite any giggling that might happen, it is a service that’s being provided, an act of care.

It’s interesting that in our culture, being cared for is sometimes seen as a sign of weakness. We are told that we can achieve anything if we try hard enough, and that if we fall down, we need to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. So, being put in a position where someone is taking care of us can feel vulnerable. It would be akin to admitting that we can’t take care of ourselves, that we need someone’s help. But, helping and being helped are required to live in community, and that’s what Jesus tells us to do. We help our neighbor, and we allow our neighbor to help us. This is how we show our love. This is how we show that we care about each other.

As I talked with the chaplain and the other chaplain assistants about the logistics of actually having a foot-washing service, we started to worry about everyone having to take off their shoes, and needing to have towels for people to dry their feet, not to mention the discomfort that some people can have around feet, and it all just started to feel like it was going to be more complicated than we wanted it to. So, we decided to make it a hand-washing service instead. We filled big bowls with water, and took turns washing each other’s hands. It was nice, but I feel like it lost something in the change from foot washing to hand washing. When you remove the awkwardness from something, it can also remove the need to examine it more closely, the need to understand it.

Awkwardness does not need to accompany acts of love. One time, I came home from work to discover a party underway. My friends and family were there, people were milling about with plates of food. I had no idea what was going on, but I soon found out that it was actually a surprise party for my birthday, not in the typical people jumping out from where they were hiding and shouting surprise kind of party, but a surprise in the fact that I didn’t know it was happening, and I just kind of walked into it. My mom somehow got the idea that she wanted to throw me a surprise party, and in honor of me, she did some experimental cooking, because, she said, I was always experimenting in the kitchen. So, she revealed the cake that she had made for my birthday, a pineapple upside-down cake, only there was something a little off about it, because the cake seemed pretty dark. I asked about it, and she said that was the experiment. She had made a chocolate pineapple-upside down cake, something I have to say I had never heard of before. It tasted…interesting…but more importantly, it was such an incredibly sweet gesture, and I truly felt seen in that moment.

The world is kind of a crazy place right now, and it’s more important than ever that we take care of each other. Communities are built through showing appreciation, showing concern, and through shared experience. Showing appreciation can be a celebration, a birthday party, a plate of cookies, a hand written note. Showing concern can bring healing, a hug, going out for coffee, a tater-tot hot dish. We are stronger and more resilient when we are together, but togetherness requires work. It means paying attention, paying attention not only to each other’s needs, but the things that make each person special…making sure that each person feels seen and understood.

So, in these trying and uncertain times, reach out to your neighbor, reach out to your family and friends, and check in with each other. Do special things for each other and make sure that your loved ones feel loved. The stronger our community is, the more prepared we will be to weather any storm. Amen.

~ Rev. Charles Wei